Why Choose Dental Implants Over Dentures and Bridges

Dental innovations during the last few decades have created a wider range of treatment options, making it easier to preserve our natural teeth than ever before. However, in some cases a tooth may be so badly damaged or decayed that extraction is the only viable course of action to preserve the health of the rest of the mouth. Other times, a tooth may fall out of its own accord.

Regardless of the reason that the tooth loss has occurred, it can cause a range of problems for the patient. Not only can they suffer from embarrassment and self-consciousness at the gap in their smile, but they may also lose some of the functionality of their mouth.

For many years, dentures and bridges have been the go-to solution for missing teeth. Full dentures can replace a full arch of missing teeth, while partial dentures and dental bridges are designed to fill one or several gaps. However, each treatment has several limitations or compromising elements. Dental implants are resolving many of these issues and are an effective alternative to dentures and bridges.

Why are dental implants better than dentures or bridges?

Dental implants are becoming an increasingly popular solution over dentures and bridges because of their unique benefits.

Strength

Dental implants are one of the strongest restorative solutions in dentistry today. This is because the titanium post fuses to the jawbone, creating an ultra-strong foundation for the prosthetic tooth.

By comparison, dentures are relatively fragile and can be easily broken if dropped. While bridges are a permanent solution, excessive force on them can cause the abutment teeth (which support the bridge and hold it in place) to come under strain, which puts them at risk of fracturing and even falling out.

Permanence and discretion

One of the biggest problems with dentures is that they are a removable device. Despite using adhesive pastes to hold them in place, many patients who wear them find that they tend to slip, especially during eating or speaking. This can cause embarrassment and self-esteem problems which can lead to the wearer avoiding social situations. It is also necessary to remove the dentures to clean them.

Dental implants are a permanent solution. Once they are fitted, they behave just as if they were natural teeth, and you can brush, floss and care for them in exactly the same way. They won’t slip and so are extremely discreet.

Aesthetic appearance

Dental implants provide the closest possible esthetic resemblance to natural teeth. In fact, many patients state that they are so convincing that no-one knows that they aren’t real thing unless they say so!

Deters further tooth loss

Unfortunately, if there is a problem with a tooth in a dental bridge or if the bridgework needs to be replaced, then teeth that support they bridge may be adversely affected. Dental implants don’t rely on any neighboring teeth.

Preserves the strength of your jawbone

Dental implants actually promote healthy bone growth and reinforce your jawbone. This will help to maintain definition in your face and keep you looking younger for longer.

If you would like to find out more about the advantages of dental implants over dentures and bridges, make an appointment with Dr. Ajmo at PGA Dentistry today.